Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr rematch: Determined to right his wrong, AJ now wields a new focus and purpose

A new Anthony Joshua stood in front of Andy Ruiz Jr on Friday afternoon in London at the end of three days, three conferences in three cities and too many questions. He looked and sounded different.

Ruiz is the Mexican Rocky, the late-replacement kid with the giant cross dangling on his belly and the most unlikely of wins, the boxing upset of the year. However, this is boxing, it’s heavyweight boxing and shocks happen. Joshua looks like the hungry and angry fighter this time, the man determined to put right a wrong.

“I could talk up here in a different way,” said Joshua at Friday’s conference. “Circumstances should not change character - my challenges are there for all to see. There is motivation for this fight and I believe Ruiz is the best heavyweight in the world. But, motivation for me is not just about the boxing.”

Joshua has been back in the gym behind closed doors, working on what went wrong and going over tactics. Perhaps the rematch will be about brains, the brains missing in New York. At the conference, Joshua had a real edge back, a welcome return in all ways. Ruiz, meanwhile, was all about family and love and buying things he desired. Joshua just kept glancing over. He has done that stuff before; there seems to be a bigger prize in this fight for Joshua than the gold and the belts the winner will enjoy. “It’s going to be a tough camp,” he admitted.

The pair were polite enough this week as they travelled in and out of airports and hotels. Ruiz endlessly smiling and Joshua just gently getting slightly more agitated as the hours ticked and air miles accrued. “He might be getting up earlier, running at 6:30am - this will be a hard camp,” confirmed Robert McCracken, who has been with Joshua in the corner for nine years. The loss is the motivation.

“I believe most fighters become better when they first taste defeat,” warned Manny Robles, the man in Ruiz’s corner. “Joshua has less pressure now - that makes him dangerous. I know that because that is what happened to Andy after he lost. Andy has just kept that desire going.”

Ruiz has enjoyed every second of his reign since the fight finished in the second minute of round seven with Joshua and the referee locked in a bizarre dance of question and refusal. Ruiz has bought houses, fancy cars, extra bling, continued to eat and lined his wardrobe with new cowboy boots and many splendid sombreros. He sat back, acted cool and watched as his guaranteed rematch figure increased. Ruiz was always going to overcome his fears of travelling to the boxing frontier if he had an enhanced stash. The Yemen dilemma was not part of Ruiz’s initial reluctance, trust me.

It was over 100 nights ago that the bell sounded for their fight; Joshua was smart for two rounds, dropped Ruiz in the third and then got clobbered and never fully recovered. Four times he was down in the horror show and has never offered excuses. He called the punch that set in motion the loss “lucky”, and that might be about right without being harsh on Ruiz. Ruiz was hurt and he responded wildly. At the end Joshua was odd, concussed, dazed, confused and honest: “I got involved. What a fucking fight.” He is right, by the way.

An uneasy cartel of instant critics were quick to dismiss Joshua the moment the referee waved off the fight. There was far too much glee on 1 June in that old Garden ring as Ruiz howled and Joshua, in reflective isolation in a corner, looked on. In 1971 at the end of the Fight of the Century, in the same ring, Muhammad Ali held his swollen head high in defeat and Joe Frazier in glory needed his friends to dress him. “We dressed him like a drunk,” Yank Durham, his manger said. Most of the press rejoiced, desperate to keep Ali on the outside. The late and great Hugh McIllvanney assessed the celebrations in the press rows and shook his head: “The big man came out bigger than he went in.” Perhaps the same is true of Joshua now that the hype, invincibility and stupid claims have gone forever.

On 7 December in a far and distant land, under an ancient sky that will feel like it hits the ground a mile out in the desert, they will fight again with their bellies, their demons and their ambitions. They will both be very different men when the bell sounds.